Trail bound circa 2008, onehikeaweek circa 2010.

2017/3/12 – Whiskey Dick Wildlife Area V / 威士忌迪克野生動物區之五

Another trip to this low-key, rainy day destination, a little over two hours by car east of Seattle. I prefer visiting the area when only foot traffic is allowed beyond the secured gate or when weather isn’t scorching hot. Current trailhead sign read: “This area is closed to all motor vehicles February 1 thru April 30.“

Other than vibrant wildflowers in warmer months, the occasional sightings of wildlife when pups were around, those giant and impressive wind turbines continued to steal the show every time.

We started by making a right at the first road junction, then scrambled northeastward to another road leading to Point 2268 south of Rocky Coulee. Roads were mostly muddy from residual snow with water puddles in low places, which we were able to avoid by going cross country. Of all the trips we’ve taken so far, this was the first time we spotted large herds of elk in various places along the ridge.

From Point 2268 we dropped down to Rocky Coulee at 1,900′ via northeast slopes, then went up on south slopes of Point 2693. After coming out on west saddle, we took a right and walked up to reach our destination. Point 2693 marked the last high point on this long ridge line parallel to Whiskey Dick Creek, before making a gradual descent eastward toward Ginkgo Petrified Forest State Park.

The point offered far-reaching views into the eastern plane, including Frenchman Coulee and Saddle Mountain Range where we had visited several times before. After spending some time on top, we started walking westward toward Point 2901 to get a closer look at the spinning turbines. This was our turnaround point last time.